Remembering to Forget

 

In the empty halls of memory 

I chase my childhood around

blind corners into dead ends.

I think I hear laughter but it is

too hard-edged to be truly the

sound of a carefree childhood.

My energy was something big

people thought to dampen with 

belts, paddles, and switches.

Now I find myself wandering

these chartreuse corridors of 

dodges and disappointments

remembering to forget.

***

From a Great Height

 

I am a giant of colossal sadness lumbering

along the sand with my head in the clouds.

I hear a child’s laughter lost in the wind.

Sunbathers lie like scattered leaves that

I have to be careful not to step on but over.

There is no fear, no screaming or pointing.

I am invisible to them, an absence of wind.

There is nothing for me here, I wade out into

the ocean, that great and mysterious mother.

***